Obama Says Singapore Key to U.S. Rebalancing Toward Asia

President Barack Obama called Singapore “one of the most successful countries in the world” and expressed appreciation for its military and economic cooperation, part of his administration’s foreign policy shift toward Asia. Singapore has provided “a steady vision of how countries in the Pacific region can cooperate effectively,” Obama said as he hosted Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the White House yesterday. Lee “has proven to be an outstanding partner for us on the international stage,” the president said. Lee praised Obama for putting greater emphasis on Asia and said Singapore “would like to be of help in furthering this process,” which includes countering China’s increasing influence in the region. Though the White House didn’t issue a statement on the specifics of a private meeting between the two leaders, they were to slated talk about economic and security issu...